Returning a favor
by Rubies and Aces
Summary: (sequel to Vanilla Twilight) This time it's Yuzuki's turn to return a favor by rescuing a certain redhead from a mission gone wrong. SasoxOc
1. Chapter 1

"It has been more than three weeks since Sasori left on his mission..." Pein started, getting everyone's attention. Yuzuki and Deidara sighed uncomfortably, realizing where this was going. "Yes...and his last message to the base looked rather rushed" Konan added quietly. "For those reasons he will be declared as missing, but not yet dead" Pein said. Yuzuki frowned, but went back to sharpening her weapons. "We will be searching for any clues about what may have happened, if we don't find anything by tomorrow one of you will be sent on a...rescue mission of sorts" Pein finished before disappearing into the hall and presumably into his office. Deidara sat on one of the kitchen stools, begining to discuss who would go the next day.

"What do you think happened to Sasori-Danna?" Deidara asked "I think he was captured, it would be quite difficult to kill him in a battle, if anything he might just be injured" Yuzuki answered, putting her weapons away. "You're right...where was he supposed to be going to steal those gems? yeah" "The village hidden in the shorelines" "I've never heard of it before, un" "Are you kidding? No-one has, the village was founded a year ago at most" Yuzuki replied matter-of-factly. "Do you know anything about it?" Deidara inquired. "Actually, I went there a while back, not very comforting...I feel bad for anyone captured by them" Yuzuki paused "Two of the few reasons the village stands out is its means of torture and its rigorous training methods" Yuzuki finished. Deidara frowned.

"If you have been there before its probably a better idea for you to go, yeah" Deidara said nervously "I would love to go again, they sell great weapons and the gates are easy to sneak through" Yuzuki shrugged.

* * *

**~~~Time skip~~~**

* * *

"I'll contact you half-way through the mission and again if I find Sasori" Yuzuki informed before leaving the base. Eventually, after three days, Yuzuki arrived at the targeted village, whose gates were conveniently left unguarded. The white-haired kunoichi managed to blend in with the people of the village perfectly without her cloak, which was now stored in a scroll inside her small backpack. After long hours of memorizing her map and deciding to wait until the next day to search the village, Yuzuki fell asleep soundly in the room she had booked for a week at a small inn.

Morning came and Yuzuki simply took her backpack and left for the village, enjoying the warm temperature that seemed to blanket it. After a short search the kunoichi spotted the 'Kage's building where she assumed prisoners were held. An hour of listening intently to the guards' conversations from her spot in the shadows confirmed her assumption. Deciding to wait untill night-time, Yuzuki took a relaxed stroll through the shops, ending up with around twenty more kunai knives stored in the same scroll as her cloak and a little glass figurine for every member of the Akatsuki stored all together in another scroll.


	2. Chapter 2

**Second chapter I guess:**

* * *

Yuzuki waited, crouched on one of the thick branches of a huge tree for the moment to arrive and...ah-ha! Yuzuki grinned as one of her senbon needles struck a specific area on each guard near the 'Kage building. Scoffing, she snuck inside, choosing random directions inside the building until she got to the bottom floor. The far away murmur of human voices encouraged her to follow the gloomy hall until she reached the end of the hall and picked the lock to a polished stainless steel door.

With quiet footsteps Yuzuki kept walking deeper into the maze of a bottom floor before arriving at door that looked much stronger. Having made her way to the other side of the door, Yuzuki found herself in darker wing of the building where the voices sounded closer. After an eternity of walking, Yuzuki stopped in the middle of what seemed to be a room lined with cells.

A pained sound that sounded very much like the redhead she was looking for came from her right. Yuzuki ran over to the cell, an unlocked metal door was eagerly pushed aside as she practically bounced in satisfied happiness. Suddenly, she crashed into something, seeing nothing, Yuzuki tried to walk forwards, only into bump into what felt like a wall...But she could see through it?

Figuring it was a seal, she undid it and then walked inside. She looked around, disappointed to find the cell empty. A muffled yell made her focus on a particularily damaged-looking spot on the wall. Yuzuki walked over to it and removed it with a solid shove. "Akasuna? Sasori, are you there?" Yuzuki called, crawling through the hole in the structure.

"Oh dear Kami..." Yuzuki's voice faded away mid-sentence as her gaze finally landed on a slumped-over figure against the far-back wall. "Yu...zu...ki?" Sasori's pained, tired voice snapped the kunoichi back to reality. Upon further inspection Yuzuki realized Sasori was bound by something. "I came to get you, how long have you been stuck here?" Yuzuki asked, after getting no answer, she got closer to the puppet master and crouched down in front of him. She winced, seeing the various slashes covering his upper body and face.

The scorpion's head lolled to the side, eyes closed, probably unconscious as Yuzuki assessed his condition quickly. "Hang on" Yuzuki muttered as Sasori barely opened his eyes. Yuzuki made an attempt at picking up the horribly injured red-head and easily did so, finding the puppet master to be incredibly lighter. With a few hand signs on the healthier ninja's side, they popped up inside the inn, more specifically and conveniently, in Yuzuki's rented room. Yuzuki placed Sasori as gently as she could, on the bed, looking guilty while doing her best to stay composed while the other Akatsuki member practically screamed in pain.

"Oh Kami..." Yuzuki repeated over and over as she searched for the small first aid kit she had brought. Being no medic, she was sure she would not make things any better but, why not try? "Yuzu...ki? What are you do...ing here...?" Sasori rasped. "I'll explain later, now, can you sit up?" Yuzuki asked, standing to the right of the bed, ready to help Sasori at any moment if needed. "Yeah..." Sasori muttered, sitting up with a grimace. Yuzuki quickly treated the worse wounds before making Sasori lay down.

Yuzuki left the inn to look for any stores that sold medical equipment in an evident hurry. After finding some supplies and going back to the inn, Yuzuki got her cloak from her scroll and draped it over Sasori, who apparently was beginning to get a low fever along with a bad cough.

With a minute of concentration, Yuzuki was able to contact the base and report the current situation. "That seems rather worrying, be here as soon as possible" Pein said shortly before ending the comunication. With a worried look, Yuzuki wiped the blood away from the corners of the other Akatsuki member's mouth with a previously white cloth. Sasori wheezed, chest heaving as another coughing fit came on. The kunoichi helped the ill red-head sit up so that he wouldn't choke on the copious amounts of blood that he coughed up thanks to what Yuzuki guessed was a punctured lung.

"You're getting worse..." Yuzuki sighed, noticing the other's shivering. "Are you hungry?" She asked. Sasori nodded weakly. "I see the painkillers are working...But...hell, that fever keeps getting worse, though" Yuzuki said mostly to herself. "Stop fussing, I've had...much worse" Sasori hissed. "No, you haven't...you were practically crying until the pills kicked in" Yuzuki hissed. "Sleep, I need to figure something out" Yuzuki commanded "But where will you sleep?" Sasori asked meekly. "I'll sleep on the recliner, don't worry; You should probably drink this before you go to sleep, you seem dehydrated" Yuzuki soothed, handing Sasori a small water bottle.

He drank less than half, what he could keep down at the moment. "Thanks" Sasori muttered, handing the bottle to Yuzuki again before falling asleep.


	3. Chapter 3

**Third Chapter:** (Set three days later)

* * *

"How are you feeling?" Yuzuki asked, cautiously re-aranging her kunai knives and senbon needles. "Better, we should get going today" Sasori replied, running a hand through his messy red hair. "If you are absolutely sure you can make the trip..." Yuzuki trailed off "I can, as long as we don't rush into any battles" Sasori added the last part as an afterthought. "My jutsu can only take us half way. I need to plan this" Yuzuki said, staring off through the large window the room offered.

"You need to rest to be able to think straight" Sasori reminded. "I'll rest when we get to the base, Akasuna" Yuzuki snapped, while Sasori looked a bit taken aback. "Why are you so angry all of a sudden?" Sasori growled, standing from the bed "Sorry, it must be the lack of sleep" Yuzuki replied calmly, still looking through the window. "That's why you should rest, your mood swings could endanger us both" Sasori stated. "Correction, it'll endanger YOU, seeing as you are unable to fight, if I run into a battle I could just leave you behind" Yuzuki's cold reply didn't surprise either of them. "My apologies, now go to sleep or eat something; you need to be as strong as possible for the trip" Yuzuki said quickly.

Sasori ignored the last command before heading for the bathroom, the cloak that had been lent to him by the kunoichi falling into a messy heap by the foot of the bed. Yuzuki took the opportunity to rest her head on her crossed arms on top of the small round table she was sitting in front of and closing her eyes, beginning to nod off.

Sasori stepped out of the bathroom wearing the clothes that Yuzuki had bought earlier; he really didn't like them much but he wasn't one to complain. Speaking of Yuzuki, the kunoichi had a habit of never sleeping when someone was in the same room, which explained her reluctance to rest. Sasori had learned that the hard way, on previous missions along with the fact that she had the emotional restraint of a child when she hadn't slept enough.

For example, he wasn't as offended by the threat of being left behind because it was something Yuzuki was bound to spit out because she hadn't slept; in fact, the simple act of speaking to her could trigger a sudden rage. Literally, one word spoken out-of-place and Yuzuki would be ready to murder anybody. But still, he couldn't help but think maybe Yuzuki would leave him behind? seeing as the most he could do was walk that didn't sound particularly safe for him.

Deciding to let the other sleep, Sasori switched the television on, beginning to surf through the few available channels. After a few hours of pure boredom went by, Yuzuki finally woke up, glaring at Sasori. "Why didn't you wake me up?" "Because you needed to rest" "Damn you" Yuzuki curse while stretching her now stiff muscles.


End file.
